Pendent swivel bench-stool.



W- B. JOHNSON.

PENDENT SWIVEL BENCH STOOL.

APPLICATION nuzo AUG. 19. 1915.

Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W. B. JOHNSON.

PENDENT SWIVEL BENCH STOOL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.19| 1915.

1,21 9,324. Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WILLIAM B. JOHNSON, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

PENDENT SWIVEL BENCH-STOOL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

Application filed August 19, 1915. Serial No. 46,377.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, VhLLrAM B. J onNsoN, a citizen of the United States, residlng at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Pendent Swivel Bench-Stools; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the characters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this application, and represent, in-

Figure 1 a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section of a bench stool constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 an underside view thereof with portions of the bench broken away.

Fig. 3, a view thereof in vertical section on the line a-b of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 a view in side elevation of one of the modified forms which my improved bench-stool may assume.

Fig. 5 a view partly in side elevation, and partly in vertical section, of another modified form of my improved bench-stool.

Fig. 6 a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section, of still another modified form of my improvement.

My invention relates to an improved pendant, swivel bench-tool designed for use in factories, work-shops, stores, and in kindred situations, the object being to produce a simple, strong, convenient and compact seat, particularly useful in modern efficiency systems, under which it is designed that workmen, clerks, etc., shall do their work in predetermined positions, and that space shall be economized to the utmost while free passage is assured.

With these ends in view, my invention consists in a pendant, swivel bench-stool having certain details of construction and combination of parts as will be hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

W'hile the essential advantages of my inventionmay be secured by different, but substantially equivalent means, I have in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive of the drawings, shown what I now regard as the preferred form of my improved benchstool. In this construction, an ordinary circular stool or seat 2 is mounted upon an elevating-screw 3 working in an internally threaded sleeve 4: castintegral with the outer end of a long, tubular longitudinally bowed seat-supporting lever 5 provided toward its upper end with an upstanding lug 6 through which passes a pin 7 also passing through the arms of a yoke 8 depending from a cone-swivel 9 turning freely in a concentric conical supportingflange 10 integral with, and depending from, a circular suspension-plate 11 secured by bolts 12 to the under face of the bench or counter 13.

T he extreme upper end of the said seatsupporting lever 5 is provided with an inclined integral friction-shoe 14L which bears upon a correspondingly inclined concentricfriction-face 15 formed, as shown, upon the edge of the suspension-plate 11.

it will be apparent from the foregoing that slight sidewise pressure upon either side of the stool 2 or of the lever 5, when there is no downward pressure upon the seat, will be suliiciellt to overcome the slight friction between the shoe 14 and face 15 and permit the stool to be swung entirely under the bench or into any position in front of the same. However, when any weight is placed upon the stool 2, the shoe 14 will be jammed by the leverage of the lever 5 against the friction-face 15 so as to firmly hold the lever 5 and stool 2 in place. A very strong locking effect will result from the friction produced by the downward draft of the cone-swivel 9 into the conical supportingflange 10, this friction increasing the force necessary to move the unweighted stool lat orally from any given position. \When the weight is removed from the stool 2 and the same is lifted ever so little, the shoe 1a is moved away from the face 15 and the cone 9 away from the flange 10, so as to permit the stool 2 and lever 5 to be easily swung in either direction, though without lifting the seat at all, it may easily be swung in either direction when unweighted, as above indicated. The user of the stool may, therefore, bring it into place for use or swing it under the bench out of the way with perfect ease and without any loss of time. In case the stool is left swung outward in front of the bench so as to obstruct truckmen or sweepers, a slight lateral push swings it back out of the way under the bench. The use of my improved stool avoids the employment of portable stools which are readily broken, and are constantly getting out of place and obstructing passages, and also se-v riously hamper the use of efficiency systems under which each workman must occupy a prescribed place in order to secure the best results. In this form of my improved device, the stool 2 is the power point, the pin 7 the fulcrum, the conical supporting-flange 10 the load point for the downward thrust,

and the friction-shoe 14 the load point for the upward thrust.

In Fig. 4: of the drawings, I have shown a form of my improved seat-supporting bench-stool in which the automatic locking and unlocking of the stool is effected on the same principle but by simpler means than the construction shown by Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive. In this modified construction, the stool 2 is applied to an elevating-screw 3, mounted in the outer end of a longitudinally bowed seat-supporting lever 16 formed at its upper end with an integral, vertically arranged hub 17 receiving a suspension stud 1,8 the upper end of which is entered into a circular plate 19 secured to the under face of the bench 20, the said plate being former upon its lower edge with a concentric friction flange 21 the upper face of which is engaged by a friction-finger 2 formed upon the upper end of the arm 16 in position to hook over the flange. It will be apparent that any downward pressure upon the seat will, through the leverage of the said lever 16, cause the finger 22 to grip the flange 21 and frictionally lock the stool in place. On the other hand, when there is no weight upon the stool 2, the friction grip between the fingerv 22 and the flange 21 will be so slight as to permit the stool to be readily swung in either direction by lateral pressure upon it, or upon either side of the arm 16. In this form of my device, the stool 2 is the power point, the suspension-stud 18 the fulcrum, and the upper face of the circular plate 19the load point, receiving as it does,

the downward thrust of the friction-finger- 22 of the seat-supporting lever 16.

In the modified construction shown by Fig. 5, the stool 2 and its elevating screw 3 are mounted in the outer end-of a longitudinally bowed seat-supporting arm 23 hung upon a pin 2a in a yoke 25 depending from a friction-cone 26 located in a conical friction flange 27 depending from the center of a suspension-plate 28 secured by bolts 29 to the lower face of the bench 30. In this construction, the friction between the swivel 26 and the flange 27 is relied upon for holding the seat 2 in any given position when downward pressure is imposed upon it. As shown, the upper end of the arm 23 is furnished with an anti-friction roller 31 riding upon the lower face of a concentric flange 32 forming the edge of the suspension-plate 28. In this embodiment of my invention, the principle of operation is the same as in the constructions previously described, in so far as the leverage of the seat-supporting arm is used for the creation of the friction required to hold the seat 1n any given posi-- tion when downward pressure is imposed upon it. In this form of my device, the stool 2 is the power point, and the pin 24 the fulcrum, while the downward thrust of the load is divided between the swivel 26 and the flange 27, and the upward thrust of the load between the anti-friction roller 31 and theconcentric flange In the modified construction shown by Fig. 6, the stool 2 and its elevating screw 3 are mounted in the outer end of a longitudinally bowed seat-supporting lever 33 swiveled upon the projecting lower end of a bolt 34. mounted directly in the bench 35. The inner end 36 of the arm 33 is shaped to form a friction-finger 37 which co-acts with a concentric plate 38 applied to the lower face of the bench 35. struction constitutes the suspension device of the seat-supporting lever. In this form of though ordinarily the use of a screw ispreferable. It will be noted that in the preferred and modified forms of my improved stool, the seat-supporting lever is suspended from the underside of the work bench so as to swing in a vertical or substantially vertical plane; that its seat is applied to it at or near its power point, and that its load or fulcrum points are so related to the work bench that the lever is in frictional relation with the work bench near its load or its fulcrum point, my improved stool being characterized by these features.

I claim 1. The combination with a work-bench, of a seat-supporting lever suspended from the underside thereof to swing in a substantially horizontal path and carrying a seat at its free end near its power point, and a friction device associated with the load and fulcrum points of the said lever, and the work-bench, whereby the lever is prevented from swinging horizontally when there is weight upon the seat.

2. The combination with a work-bench, of a seat-supporting lever suspended from the underside thereof and mounted to swing at its fulcrum in a substantially vertical path and also to swing in a substantially horizontal path, and a friction device interposed between the said bench and lever to receive the thrust of the lever when there is weight thereon, and so prevent the lever from swinging in its horizontal path.

The said bolt 34 in this con- 7 3. The combination with a work-bench, of a seat-supporting lever suspended from the underside thereof to swing in a substantially horizontal plane, and a friction-device between the work-bench and said lever adapted to receive the thrust of the lever when there is weight thereon and prevent said horizontal swing.

4. The combination with a work-bench, of a seat-supporting lever suspended from the underside thereof to swing in a substantially horizontal plane, and a pair of friction devices between the work-bench and said lever and concentric with the axis of said horizont-al swing and adapted to receive the thrust of two separated points in said lever when there is weight thereon and prevent said horizontal swing.

5. The combination with a work-bench, of

a seat-supporting lever suspended from the the upward and the other the downward thrust of said lever when there is weight thereon and prevent said horizontal swing.

6. In a pendant, swivel bench-stool, the combination with a suspension device, of a friction-cone mounted therein, a seat-supporting arm connected with the said cone, and a concentric friction surface with which the said arm acts to lock the seat when downward pressure is imposed thereupon.

7. In a pendant, swivel bench-stool, the combination with a suspension plate formed with a concentric friction surface, of a friction-cone mounted in the said plate so as to turn therein, and a seatsupporting arm pivoted to the said cone and adapted at its upper end to co-act with the said concentric friction surface, whereby the arm acting as a lever operates to frietionally lock itself when downward pressure is imposed upon the seat.

8. In a pendant, swivel bench-stool, the combination with a suspension-plate having a concentric friction surface and a concentric conical flange located within the same,

of a friction-cone turning in the said flange, and a seat-supporting arm pivotally connected with the said cone and having its upper end adapted to engage with the said concentric friction surface, whereby the arm acting as a lever frictionally locks itself in any given position when downward pressure is imposed upon the seat.

WILLIAM B. JOHNSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

